Anchor for cemetery vases, baskets and the like



A. TRITSCH EI'AE ANCHOR FOR CEMETERY VASES, BASKETS, AND THE-LIKE A ril 23, 1957 I Filed Nov. 10, 1955 5 2 M m r 4 2 M W United States Patent ANCHOR FOR CEMETERY VASES, BASKETS AND THE LIKE Julius A. Tritsch and Frank C. Tritsch, Cincinnati, Ohio Application November 10, 1955, Serial No. 546,104

4 Claims. (Cl. 47-41) unevenness of the ground, or to a combination of both these factors.

In view of the above, the main object of the present invention is to provide an anchor or support for a receptacle of the type referred to, which can be swiftly attached to the lower end portion of the receptacle, and will be adapted to be easily forced into the ground, in

sucha manner as to insure that the receptacle will be supported in a stable position upon the ground, withou any danger whatsoever of its tipping.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a vase or basket support or anchor capable of manufac-fl ture at an extremely low cost. This is of importance in view' of the fact that only if a support of the type stated is fully expendable, to be used only once, if necessary,

cansuch a support be commercially feasible.

Another object of importance is to so form the support as to cause the same to both grip the receptacle in clamping relation thereto, and support the receptacle against tilting movement, with this object being achieved entirely through the particular formation of a pair of connected pieces of wire constituting'the only components needed in making the device. I

Another object is to so shape the connected pieces of wire relative to one' another as to impart to the receptacle H clamping portions thereof the characteristics of spreadable jaws,"the wires having a slight springiness permit ting'the jaws to be resiliently and yieldably shifted away from one another, to thereafter return to clamping engagement with the receptacle after disposition of there ceptacle upon the top portion of the device.

A further object of importance is to so form, the jaws as to include therein means for supportably engaging the bottom part of the receptacle when the free ends of the jaws are clampably engaged with the receptacle.

Yet another object is to provide, in a basket orvase' andsupporting anchor therefor, means for hookingjthe 3 anchor in the bottom portion of the vase at diametrically opposite locations on the base, while still assuring against leakage of water from the vase, this construction being designed specifically for vases or other receptacles holding fresh flowers.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cemetery vase and supporting anchor therefor;

Figure 2 is an enlarged, detail sectional view on line 2--2 of Figure 1; and

,. ice

Figure 3 is an enlarged bottom plan view of the vase and anchor.

Thereference numeral 10 generally designates a receptacle'adapted to hold a quantity of flowers, such as dry preserved foliage or the like, cut flowers, etc.. Designat ed generally at 12 is a supporting anchor for the receptacie 10. v

The supporting anchor is formed from two pieces of stout slightly resilient wire material, said pieces being identically formed but oppositely arranged. Each of the pieces is formed with an elongated stake portion at its lower end, the stake portions of the respective pieces, designatedat14, 16 respectively, are welded or otherwise fixedly secured in longitudinally contacting relation, for their full lengths. The stake portions are straight from "end to end, and when secured in contacting relation cooperate to define a stake adapted to be forced into the ground surface.

At their upper ends, the respective stake portions 14, 16 -mer'ge into'support legs 18, 20 respectively. The legs 18, 20 diverge in a direction from the stake portions, and are disposed in an acute-angular relationship. The

stake portions are slightly springable away from one another, for a purpose to be made presently apparent, and

at their upper ends merge into laterally projecting jaws 22, 24 extending radially of the bottom of. the receptacle 10 in opposite directions.

The jaws .22, 24 are disposed horizontally, and adjacent their inner ends, are formed with V-shaped, laterally extending crimps providing projections 26, 28.

'As shown in Figure 3, the projections 26, 28 extend in opposite directions, and accordingly provide support for the'areas of the bottom of the receptacle 10 at opposite sides of the jaws.

The projections 26, 28, at their outer ends, merge into outer end portions 30, 32 of the jaws, and as shown in Fi'gureZ, these are inclined slightly from the horizontal, the 'portions 30, 32 declining in a direction away from the center-of the receptacle bottom. At their outer ends, the end portions 30, 32 merge into clamping hooks 34,

' 36,- said hooks projecting upwardly from the portions 30,

32 and being turned inwardly. The inclination of the portions 30, 32, as will be noted from Figure 2, permits the jaws to clear a depending, peripheral bead or rolled edge 38 formed upon the can bottom, and immediately above said head, at diametrically opposite locations on the receptacle, small openings 39 are formed, receiving-the free ends of the hooks 34, 36.

For the purpose of reinforcing the side wallof the relegjf'at its upper end being resiliently spreadable to spread the jawsapart sufiiciently to permit engagement of the hooks in the openings of the receptacle said wall. On release of the resiliently spread jaws, the hooks spring into the openings, and as a result, the receptacle is securely gripped. At the same time, due to the oppositely extending projections 26, 28 and the horizontally disposed portions of the jaws, the receptacle is vertically supported, and any tendency thereof to tilt in either direction is resisted by one of the projections.

The projections may be formed differently from the manner illustrated, and might for example be of semicircular formation or shaped to provide laterally extending, substantially straight fingers engaging against the receptacle bottom. Further, in some embodiments, the projections might be omitted altogether.

Still further, no materials have been specified herein for the receptacle, since said materials may be varied as desired, with the receptacle being of metal, glass, plastic, etc.

In an embodiment of the invention used for holding preserved foliage, the openings 39 may be communicated with the interior of the receptacle, since leakage is not a problem in this instance. In other embodiments of the invention, and as shown in Figure 2, it may be desired to use the receptacle for holding fresh flowers, in which event water would be deposited therein. Leakage in this event may be prevented, and as shown in Figure 2, to prevent such leakage, the openings 39, instead of communicating with the interior of the container, may communicate with laterally, outwardly opening recesses 40 formed in small blocks, thickened portions, or lugs 42 provided at diametrically opposite locations at the bottom of the container, and sealably engaged through their peripheries with the adjacent portions of the container. I I

Further, it may be desired in some instances to provide a false bottom above the opening 39 or, for that matter, a single bottom plate disposed above said opening 39, with the support portion of the anchor being shaped to engage the recessed receptacle bottom that would result from such a construction.

By reason of the resilient nature of the legs 18, 20, the hooks, when engaged in the openings 39, securely engage the container, so as to hold the entire assembly rigid and render the same impervious to pressures directed laterally thereagainst, which pressures tend to tilt the same out of a vertical position.

t is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A support device for a receptacle adapted to hold flowers and like articles, comprising a pair of identically but oppositely formed lengths of wire, said lengths of.

wire at one end thereof being fixedly secured in longitudinally contacting relation to provide a ground-penetrating stake, the lengths of wire diverging upwardly from said stake and being of springable characteristics, so as to permit resilient spreading of the diverging portionsof saidlength, said lengths of wire at the upper ends of the divergent portionsthereof merging into laterally, outwardly projecting jaws having inwardly turned hooks at their upper ends adapted to engage in diametrically opposite openings formed in the lower end of said receptacle, said jaws being adapted to provide support for the bottom of the receptacle.

2. A support device for a receptacle adapted to hold flowers and like articles, comprising a pair of identically but oppositely formed lengths of wire, said lengths of wire at one end thereof being fixedly secured in longitudinally contacting relation to provide a ground-penetrating stake, the lengths of wire diverging upwardly from said stake and being of springable characteristics, so as to permit resilient spreading of the diverging portions of said length, said lengths of Wire at the upper ends of the divergent portions thereof merging into laterally, outwardly projecting jaws having inwardly turned hooks at their upper ends adapted to engage in diametrically op- 10 I wire at one end thereof being fixedly secured in longitudinally contacting relation to provide a ground-penetrating stake, the lengths of wire diverging upwardly from said stake and being of springable characteristics, so as to permit resilient spreading of the diverging portions. of said length, said lengths of wire at the upper ends of the divergent portions thereof merging into laterally, outcrimps in the lengths of wire, said projections extending inopposite directions so as to underlie portions of the receptacle bottom at opposite sides of the respective jaws.

4. A container for flowers and the like comprising an upwardly opening receptacle including at its lower end diametrically opposite openings formed in the side walls of said receptacle, said receptacle including block-like formations on the interior thereof having laterally, outwardly opening recesses registering with said openings, said formations being sealably engaged with the adjacent portions of the receptacle to prevent leakage through the openings; and support means for the receptacle comprising a pair of identically but oppositely formed lengths of wire material, said lengths of material being secured together in longitudinally contacting relation at one end to provide a ground-penetrating stake, the lengths of material diverging upwardly from said stake and being of springable characteristics so as to permit resilient, yieldingmovement of the divergent portions away from one another, said lengths at the upper ends of the divergent portions being formed with oppositely, substantially horizoritally extending jaws, said jaws including inwardly turned hooks attheir outer ends engageable in said openings and recesses.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 302,141 Jeflords July 15, 1884 1,693,393 Lapolla Nov. 27, 1928 1,876,322 Rudolph Sept. 6, 1932 

